The Point Man and the Ringmaster
by Hella530
Summary: With one phone call and the appearance of a Shade the team learn about someone from Arthur's past who will soon change their future.
1. Chapter 1 Indirect introductions

The Point Man and the Ringmaster

Chapter 1. Indirect introductions

Arthur is always controlled and calm. His subconscious never influenced the dream more than they should. He was always the person on the team whose past never reflected itself in the dream. That all changed with one phone call.

Everything seemed fine that day. They were in Nevada, looking into a possible job. Everyone, even Cobb was in the small warehouse Arthur had rented. He was typing away at the computer when his cell phone rang. Now this wouldn't have been strange if it was the cell phone he used for work, but this was his personal phone. One only a few people, including all those in the warehouse, knew the number to.

Ariadne looked at him confused while he studied the number. He answered the phone, sounding curious.

"Hello?" Then his face lit up in recognition and wide smile appeared on his face for a second before disappearing. "Oh hi! I haven't heard from you in a while, how are you?" He asked as he scrambled out of his seat, grabbed his jacket and headed out of the warehouse quickly. Ariadne couldn't help her curiosity, Arthur so rarely smiled, and it was usually aimed at her these days, she felt a speck of jealousy form in her stomach but quickly sweeps it away with the reminder to herself: 'He is not my boyfriend, I do not have a claim on him_.'_ She feels foolish momentarily before she gets to the door of the warehouse and briefly considers tuning back before hearing his voice through the door.

"Yeah, I remember the date, how are you?" He pauses." I miss her too, she was very motherly, very warm. How are things with the others? They're your employees now right?" He sounds very happy, she realizes he rarely sounds like that. "That's fantastic, so where are you guys now?" He laughs and something inside of her clenches. "I can't believe it, you sound so domesticated Annie."

'Who's Annie?' She thinks to herself, the jealousy back and growing stronger.

"Well don't say I didn't warn you, now if you're ever near here you just call and let me know, I'm sure you could make money here. And maybe you might even be able to work with me, I have a position in mind for you."

"I'm sure he does." She heard Eames whisper behind her. She turns around, holding a hand over her mouth, hoping Arthur didn't hear her squeak of surprise. She pushed Eames away from the door.

"Were you listening in?" She whispered, sounding scandalized.

"Weren't you?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"That's different! Somehow." She squeaked as she tried to rationalize her snooping.

Suddenly Eames was pulling her towards her desk she opened her mouth to ask him what he was doing.

"Tell me about this design here." He said quickly, interrupting her before she began.

Taken aback she answered quickly. "Well I was looking into landmarks and figuring how and if they should be used in a dream and if they could be used to our advantage." She said, sounding a little confused, till she noticed Arthur sitting at his desk, typing away again. She realized he pulled her away so Arthur wouldn't suspect their spying. "Thank you." She whispered to him. He smiled and winked at her.

"Anytime, just try to snoop a little more carefully next time, I won't be able to help you out of your mess all the time, and I might not if I think him finding out will be funny." He said with a grin, low enough so Arthur wouldn't hear. She glared at him as he walked away. Eames was like a big brother, unfortunately at times he liked to annoy her too just for the hell of it.

Later Cobb, Eames, Ariadne, and Arthur all went under to look at something Ariadne had made. It was a large field filled with landmarks, she wanted to get the precision of them down, if she was ever going to use them in a dream she wanted them all to look and feel accurate.

"The Gateway Arch is slightly bigger darling." Eames said as he looked up at the monument.

"The area around Mount Rushmore has less vegetation." Arthur said.

"Is this the Shoe House from Hellam?" Cobb asked.

"Yeah,"

"It doesn't have laces, your thinking of a different one."

Ariadne focused on these and the other constructive criticisms and changed them accordingly. Everything was going well and good till they were just about to leave.

"That's not a monument, is it?" Cobb asked, pointing to what at first glance looked like a very tall pole in the ground.

"No, that's one of those tightrope things from a circus. But it's missing the rope and the second pole. Did you put this in here Ariadne?" Eames asked her.

"I didn't, who's that?" She asked, pointing to a girl climbing it. When she reached the top platform she stood and ran a hand through her long strawberry blonde hair. She looked down at them and she had such a look of despair on her face Ariadne had to hold back a sob. She looked about her age, but she was tall and trim. She seemed to be wearing a gray shirt and black yoga pants.

"I'm sorry Arthur." She called out, the others looked to Arthur in confusion and noticed the look of distraught on his face. "I'm sorry, but I can't take it anymore, forgive me, please forgive me." Then she closed her eyes, spread her arms and swan dived off the platform.

Ariadne screamed and Arthur turned away quickly, not seeing her plummet to the bottom or her twisted mangled body on the ground. As they all turned to look at him he pulled out a gun and shot himself in the temple.

When they all did the same Ariadne quickly took out the lead and looked around for him. She saw him on the raised second floor of the warehouse that located above the small offices where Cobb and Yusuf worked. He was staring out a window, one hand outside his pocket, clenched, the other in his pocket, no doubt wrapped around his totem. She walked up to him slowly.

"Who was that?" She asked softly, caught between not wanting to disturb him and needing to comfort him.

"Her name is Anais. She was my best friend before…" He trailed off, still not fully looking at her.

"Before she killed herself." Ariadne finished.

"She didn't kill herself!" Arthur yelled, before wincing as he sees her flinch. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell. She didn't kill herself, but she tried. It's a bit of a long story."

"I have time." Ariadne said, placing a hand on his wrist.

"We all do." Cobb says as he comes up the steps to see them. "You bring a projection of your friend into the dream, you owe us at least an explanation of who she is." Arthur's jaw clenched, he didn't want to say 'Well what about Mal?' That would be cruel, and would get them nowhere.

"Fine, but I at least want to sit down." he said before walking down the steps quickly and sitting on one of the cushioned chairs that had replaced the lawn chairs. After everyone, even Yusuf after Eames filled him in, had sat down. Arthur sighed and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped.

"Cobb, do you remember that girl I introduced you to the one time, Annie?" Cobb squinted his eyes then nodded.

"Yeah, you were talking to her and then she had to leave. She was in this strange outfit."

"That's the girl from the dream, her name is Anais Kale. She's been my best friend since I was seven. When she was thirteen her Mom died in a car accident. On April fifteenth, today's date, she tried to kill herself by, well you saw how."

"She survived that?" Ariadne asked, sounding shocked.

"No, she never leapt off, well she did, but her father grabbed her on the way down, he had been following her up. I wasn't there at the time, he had called me a few hours afterwards and related it to me. After that either her or I would call the other on this date, I had nearly forgotten." He said, the last part a little quieter as he looked down at his hands.

"Arthur, are we going to be seeing more of her?" He asked, his voice soft despite the seeming harshness of his words. Arthur shook his head quickly.

"Doubtful, it's just the day, it's… difficult for me to think about." He said, not looking up from his hands.

"Well, if you need to talk…" Cobb said waiving a hand.

"I have a question." Eames said, looking grave as he leaned forward, resting his arm on his knee. At Arthur's raised eyebrow and eye contact he continued, now pointing at Arthur. "Is she single? Because she's pretty hot." He asked, never losing the serious look. Arthur rolled his eyes and stood up, walking back to his desk. "What? You don't know, she could be my soul mate. Future mother of my children, this could be destiny!" He yelled as everyone got up and walked away, raising his hands in defeat. "Fine, I'll be alone forever!"

"The entire female race thanks you!" Ariadne called out with a laugh.


	2. Chapter 2 The two ringmasters

Chapter 2. The Two Ringmasters

A few days had passed and no more poles with young woman diving to their deaths appeared in any shared dreaming Arthur had. But if anyone had seen the long haired young woman hiding just out of direct sight watching with sad eyes no one said anything, they just ignored her, even as she sometimes reached out to the Point Man, as if to grab onto his sleeve before pulling back limply, as if the very action took too much energy.

Arthur always pretended not to see her, at least while the others were looking. Sometimes when they weren't, or when he managed to slip away without them noticing he would approach her, put a hand on her shoulder and ask if she was okay. She would always smile, nod and then walk away, as if she was never there. That seemed to actually get rid of her and he wouldn't see her for the rest of the dream. Sometimes he considered going down by himself and talking to her, never expecting a response, just talking, telling her how she made him feel that day, apologizing over and over for not noticing her spiraling depression, telling her he would never forget about her. But he knew it was unhealthy so he would sigh, step outside and call the real Anais.

During one of those conversations she said she and the others were coming to their town, she told him she and one of her coworkers would be in the town square a few days from then around three and she demanded he bring himself and the team and that she would not take no for an answer. He laughed and said he would talk to them about it. A day later he did.

"She said she wanted all of us there so we could all meet." He said to everyone after they gathered at his request.

"Does she know what you do exactly?" Cobb asked suspiciously. Arthur looked sheepish for a second and the tips of his ears turned red. Ariadne thought to herself that Arthur looked so cute like that.

"She cornered me one day when we were in the same city and made me tell her. She had seen the marks on my wrists and was convinced I was doing drugs. She said if I didn't tell her why they were there or if she didn't believe me then she would tie me up and drive me home." He said, staring at his shoes. "She can be quite terrifying when she wants to be."

"So she believed you right off the bat?" Ariadne asked. Arthur sighted heavily.

"She did after I showed her the PASIV."

"You what?" Cobb yelled.

"She had the rope ready I didn't want to be hogtied! Literally! And she's strong she could of done it!" He yelled back.

Ariadne couldn't help herself, she giggled as she pictured the girl she had seen in the dream with a coil of rope glaring at Arthur as he tried to explain. Everyone else must have thought of that because soon everyone in the room was laughing. Arthur just stood there with his arms crossed an irritated look on his face as he waited for everyone to stop laughing.

"I would love to meet this girl but unfortunately I have plans that day. I'm going into town to see a contact about the compound." Yusuf said as he wiped his eyes.

"Well I can make it, I wouldn't miss meeting this firecracker for anything." Eames said as he tried to calm himself down.

"Luckily my Mom is staying for the next few days so I can go while she watches James and Phillipa." Cobb said as he caught his breath. Ariadne shrugged.

"I'm free. This should be fun."

"By the way Arthur, what was with that strange outfit she was wearing the last time?" Cobb asked.

"Oh right, she works in a circus as a ringmaster."

The next day:

"So you remembered to get the permit signed?"

"Yes I remembered to get the permit signed, I have done this before Annie."

"I'm just making sure Patrick, you have forgotten before."

"I said I was sorry, and that it would never happen again, so can you drop it?"

"Fine, just put it on the side of the box and we'll get ready, Arthur should be here soon."

Arthur, Ariadne, Cobb and Eames had actually arrived two minutes ago, remaining unnoticed by two people, both with red ringmaster costumes on. Annie's had black capri pants, black heeled boots, the usual red coat and of course the black top hat. She also had a short cane that she tucked under her arm while dealing with what looked like a longish box with soap written on the side, with black marker. Patrick's costume was mostly the same except his pants reached his flat shiny black shoes, and he had a longer cane. As she held the box up Patrick took a staple gun and stapled a piece of paper on the box. Then she turned and spotted Arthur.

"Arthur! I'm so glad you came! I haven't seen you in ages!" She says as she walks up to him with a wide grin. Ariadne has to battle back the green-eyed monster as the girl placed her hands on her hips, pushing the figure concealing coat out of the way.

She wasn't built like a model but she had more in the way of a chest then Ariadne, was trim and she had very toned legs from what she could she. And it didn't help that Arthur was smiling at her.

"It's been almost eight months." He replied shaking his head at her as the smile persisted. She looked confused for a second.

"Really? Huh, thought it was longer."

"Well you are freakishly forgetful." Patrick said as he walked up to them, adjusting his top hat. "Come on, it's time to work."

"Fine cranky pants." She replies with a scowl before shrugging at Arthur. "I'll talk to you and the others in a second, time for the spiel." She said before running back to the box where Patrick stood.

"Spiel?" Ariadne asked.

"In the particular circus where she works this is an old tradition, the ringmaster stands on a soap box in the town square and basically advertises for the circus, apparently it usually works very well. I've never actually seen her do it before." He explained.

Suddenly both ringmasters got on top of the soap box, almost not both fitting on there, not till Patrick looped his arm with Anais and they both steadied each other. Then they both bent down and picked up two megaphones and straightened.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Anais started.

"Children of all ages!" Patrick added.

"I am the beautiful ringmaster Anais!" She said, waving her cane as she nods to the gathering crowd.

"And I am the incredible ringmaster Patrick!" He says with a tilt of his head and a slight bow.

"Keep telling yourself that, we are from the amazing Donovan family circus!" Anais said with a wave of her arm to accentuate her statement.

"And we are here to announce that we are in town for the next two weeks to entertain you!"

"We have lions, tigers-"

"No bears though unfortunately."

"We would if you had put the honey away though." She said to him with a small smile on her face as a few people in the crowd chuckled.

"Well I was going to lock you in a box but you didn't like that idea." He added and more laughs were heard.

"Well we do have acrobats!" She directed back to the crowd.

"Tightrope walkers!"

"Trapeze artists and tumblers!"

"No one cares what you have in your desk!" More laughs could be heard as Patrick mock scowled at her. "But we also have clowns!"

"And for those who are uncomfortable around them we do not have them on our Sunday show!"

"So you're not going to be there on Sunday?" She asked while he mock scowled as more people laugh.

"I will be but you're not allowed to wear make up." This time she gave him a look while people laughed and cheered. "You're also subbing as a gorilla right?" He asked her with a grin. Then they both turned to the audience with wide smiles and their arms around the others waist, to show it was all in good fun.

"To see all these things-" Anais said with a smile.

"Our antics-" Patrick said as he nudged her hip with his.

"And so much more-"

"Come to the Nathan fairgrounds this Friday Saturday or Sunday-"

"Or the next ones."

"We hope very much to see you there!" Patrick finished off before the both of them bowed low at the waist the arm not linked with the other persons swung out wide with a flourish. The crowd applauded and they both hopped off the box. Anais immediately headed over towards them after dropping her megaphone in a bag and twirling her cane the whole way there.

"Okay now give me a hug." She said to Arthur as she got closer. She spread her arms out. Arthur looked annoyed.

"In public?" He asked, looking around at the dispersing crowd. She simply nodded so he went over and hugged her. When he pulled back he rolled his eyes.

"So, introduce me." She said to him. He turned so he was standing between the team and her.

"Anais, these are my coworkers, Dominic Cobb," She shook Cobb's hand and nodded with a smile and a nod. "Ariadne," She shook her hand with a small non-committal greeting. "and Eames." Eames smiled charmingly as he took her hand.

"Well hello there." He said with a wink. Arthur groaned but Anais giggled.

"Hello there yourself." She said with a cheeky smile.

"Anais I'm heading back now. Good to see you again Arthur." Patrick said as he nodded at Arthur, before nodding at the rest of the group.

"That's Patrick Donovan. The owners son, I'm teaching him how to be a ringmaster, he's also learning how to be an animal tamer, that way he can perform double-duty if need be." Anais said, watching him go. "So you said you might have a job for me?" She said to Arthur, her eyebrows raised.

"Possibly, come to this address, we can tell you more about it, and you can show the team what you can do." Arthur said as he wrote the address on her palm. She nodded while studying the address.

"Awesome, it'll give me time to change. So I'll be seeing you there. It was nice meeting you all. See ya Artie." She said with a wave to the others and a crooked grin.

"Don't call me Artie!" Arthur to her retreating figure, a loud laugh was her only response.


End file.
